War Games 7

Viva La Resistance!

And also a French guy. The Doctor seems to think that "a flag of truce" entitles him to the right to ask what's going to happen to him, but then at the end of his very next line, he drops a smoke grenade.

The War Lord shows up, but that doesn't really stop the squabbling between the War Chief and the Security Chief. Despite the fact that we'll always be rooting for the renegade Time Lord, it seems like the Security Chief is just a tad more competent. Then again, the War Chief quite rightly points out that none of this would be possible without him... and his "SIDRAT." Are you serious?

Phil Madoc, the War Lord, is freaking awesome. The Security Chief is a fantastic ham ("What use. Is that. To US?"), and the War Chief, while slightly more subtle, still gets his share of scenery to chew ("It's a simple conclusion you might have even come to yourself"). As always, when there is a rouge Time Lord in the mix, the most interesting scenes are going to be the one between the Doctor and his "colleague." And the story's pacing really hasn't allowed that to happen yet. Having said that, I disagree with Madoc when he says "I tire of your eternal bickering," because the squabbling is really the greatest thing about these episodes.

Oh, and Smythe gets killed off in this episode despite the fact that he hasn't been in a few now. "We're going to bring you back to kill you off." Yeah, closure, but it still seems kinda awkward. Smythe's reappearance has reminded me, though, that this serial both begins and ends with the Doctor standing trial for his life. And neither the Time Lords nor Smythe seem to be free of prejudice.